How to Fix a Glee Club (or How Not to)
by little red after the wolf
Summary: AU Carmel royalty turned McKinley trash in two weeks? At least it'll be a good story once she fixes the wreck that is New Directions. — account abandoned, will be moved to ao3


**A/N: So this is something new I'm trying. I'm not entirely sure about endgame ships so I'd like it if you guys wouldn't mind telling me what you want ship-wise (outside of later seasons because I'm probably not going to touch anything and/or anyone that happened after Rachel left McKinley for New York. Also, fair warning, I'm probably going to go with what makes most sense with where the story goes as opposed to what's most popular) throughout this story. Also, I'll make sure to answer your questions in these author notes so leave those in reviews too. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this, it's a little rushed though.**

In Rachel Berry's life, the arts have always mattered. Outside her personal training, she has always strived to actively participate in the arts. Her favorite thing about Carmel (well, not really her favorite but close enough), has always been that it makes participating in the arts easy.

Vocal Adrenaline has always welcomed her. Okay, so not always. Maybe there was a hell month in eighth grade when they tormented her (and, to be fair, the other new recruits) but she tries not to think about that.

Vocal Adrenaline has always been for winners too. Rachel Berry's favorite thing to do, coincidentally, is win.

And that, the way she fits so perfectly into it and the comfort of having something so good in only her sophomore year and the seamless functioning of it all, is exactly why Rachel Berry makes absolutely sure to pack her things as angrily and dramatically as she can. She has always had this flare for dramatics. It came with the arts and their importance in her life.

* * *

"You really couldn't talk them out of it," Jesse says. It's not a question. If she knows one thing about him (other than his talent or how much she wants to punch him in the face), it's that he doesn't ask stupid questions.

She takes a deep breath before even turning to face him. "If you must know, yes. But I'm sure you're thrilled to not have to share the spotlight with me so don't even bother with the witty insult, Jesse." It comes out in a single breath but he's used to this so he just smirks at her.

"I'm wounded, Rachel. I happen to genuinely enjoy outshining you in the spotlight," he ignores her request. Jesse has never had much tact with her feelings.

"I'm transferring to McKinley. I'm in enough pain already without you tormenting me," she sighs. Shelby had been unwilling to do anything to help her (it's frustrating but she has never been able to quite believe that Shelby has really liked her so it was probably a waste of her voice), her fathers are still refusing to listen to her pleas, and she has no relatives who live close enough to Carmel for her to stay.

"Maybe you'll fix their Glee club and be like one of those peppy teen movies." He doesn't mean it.

Rachel decides she has too much dignity and pride for this ridicule so she picks up her lunch and briskly walks away from him and to the auditorium for at least one last good stress song there.

* * *

High school is temporary. That has been her mantra since she began high school and was only slightly disappointed that it was nothing like High School Musical (even if she still finds their portrayal of the quote and quote Drama Queen character tacky and absolutely hates Troy and Gabriella for the injustice they cause). It's not that Carmel had been particularly hellish (outside of the first month) but sometimes, she let herself get too high strung about Shelby's perpetual dislike of her and how hard she had to work for all of the solos that Jesse would have been handed and occasionally classes.

McKinley, from what she can already tell, is not at all Carmel.

She knew coming into this that their Glee club was pathetic (she still cringes for them at the thought of last year at Sectionals when she'd seen their absolutely pedophile-ish director who had been mentally undressing Jesse or her or both of them), she had heard of the horrific jocks being on top of the social pyramid, but nothing could've prepared her for how bad it really is.

It's only lunch and so far she has been harassed (sexually and verbally) six times and spent most of her day bored and counting ceiling tiles and light structures and seen three kids hit in the face with some overpriced frozen drink — all things that have never happened at Carmel and completely mortify her.

She hates it.

No, she really hates it. More than she thought she would and she had braced herself for more hate than she holds for Andrew Lloyd Webber. And, frankly, she hates Andrew Lloyd Webber about as much as Patti LuPone does.

"Why are you here?" She looks up from her lunch to see a boy she thinks she has never seen with a face like every boy who has ever been rejected from Vocal Adrenaline.

"Excuse me?" She thinks he could at least introduce himself before the interrogation.

"Why are you here? You're from Vocal Adrenaline, you're their female star — " she bitterly resents that he says "female star" instead of just star and her urge to hit Jesse comes crawling back " — you shouldn't be at McKinley."

"If I had a choice, I wouldn't be." With that, she picks her lunch up and briskly walks away, careful to stomp just enough for her perfected dramatic exit.

McKinley is ruder than she'd thought, apparently (and she hadn't thought it to be very polite). McKinley is suspicious of her, McKinley doesn't care that two boys and a girl have grabbed her ass, and, in general, McKinley is everything she is glad Carmel wasn't.

At the very least, she has to cling to the hope that maybe their Glee club has improved since last year.

Later, she finds it hasn't.

* * *

 _reviews are love. give rachel some._


End file.
